The Painted Dead
by inuyasha 303
Summary: /"Roses in The Walking Dead" the 'Together Forever' ending.\ Mary smiled down at their mothers lifeless corpse. "Don't worry, Ib. Because I'll always be here."


**Description**: /"Roses in The Walking Dead" 'Together Forever' ending.\ Mary smiled down at their mothers lifeless corpse. "Don't worry, Ib. Because I'll always be here."

**AN**: I had a couple of people asking me where Mary was in my Ib/The Walking Dead crossover, so I started to think about it. Cry _did_ get the 'Together Forever' ending… so I figured I would go ahead and write how the story _would have gone _if Mary had made it out of the painting instead of Garry.

**_Warnings_**_: Violence, character death._

* * *

**The Painted Dead**

They could hear the shatter of glass through the dinning room doors. Two young girls looked over and their mother stood up, her expression startled. In awe of the strange noise, they waited in silence until a mans voice called out:

"H-Honey…!"

"Daddy's home!" Mary cheered, her blond hair bouncing around her head as she swung back to look at the girl she called 'sister'.

Ib smiled back acknowledging, but quickly looked back at the door concerned.

Their mother put down her sewing as Mary jumped out of her chair. "Darling what's wrong?" She called, rushing out the double doors while Mary took Ib's hand.

"Come on, Ib. Let's go see what Daddy broke!" With or without consent, she pulled her fake sister out of the chair.

They heard their mother's frightened cry before they rounded the corner but it didn't stop them. Their father stood, bracing himself on the table with one hand and clutching his shoulder with the other. Blood stained his shirt all the way down his arm, thick drops of the red liquid dripping to the floor. The vase he'd knocked over laid in pieces across the wood.

Mary felt the hand in hers tighten and turned to see her sister's eyes wide with fear.

"I'm quite fine, Darling." Their father said quickly, trying to smile. "I don't want to startle the girl; have you listen to the radio this evening? Perhaps seen the television?"

Their mother ran to his side and helped him stand up, letting him lean on her as she walked him carefully to the kitchen.

"Oh! How did this happen!? Ib, sweetheart, call the hospital!" Without hesitation, Ib released Mary's hand and ran off.

Mary frowned.

"Darling, it won't help." The man said as they reached the kitchen and she helped him onto a stool. His wife scrambled for a cloth and ran it under hot water. "An ambulance won't come."

"What?" She asked, turning to him. "Don't be ridiculous. Of course it will come. It will be right here. Now, what happened to you…?"

"You need to turn on the radio. It's…" He sighed as his worried love peeled his shredded suit jacket fabric from his shoulder and dabbed at it with the cloth. "It's horrible… there were so many car crashes and there are… _things_ running around... they'll never make it through to us."

Mary blinked at them leaning against the door frame bored, her big blue eye turning back to the living room. Ib was holding the phone, but she wasn't talking. She was waiting for them to answer.

"What are you talking about? …oh… there's so much blood…" She looked up, her skin pale. "M-Mary, baby, don't look, ok. Go find out what's taking your sister."

"She's on hold." Mary answered, knowingly.

"On hold!? Tell her to call 911!"

Mary looked back out. "MOM SAYS CALL 911!" Ib looked back at her and held out the phone. Flipping her hair as she looked back Mary smiled, "She did Mommy. They aren't answering."

"What? H-How can that be!"

The man grabbed her arm. "It's ok. We can fix it ourselves. Go get the medical kit and… and my hunting gun."

"Your gun!" She shrieked. "Why?"

He grabbed her hand gently. He could see his wife's panic building. She was a kept women. Blood and confusion wasn't part of her life and he knew he must be a terrifying sight. "Darling… this- I was bit by a man. A very, _very_ sick man. And… they said that what he has… is transferred through the bite."

The women gasped, horrified her eyes filling with tears over what her husband was telling her. He shook her arm slightly.

"Don't panic. Think about the girls." He glanced over at the little demon-disguised-as-an-angel and then lowered his voice. "I saw those things outside _tearing_ people to shreds. I saw those things get up and go after others. Darling… they're _dead_."

Mary turned around, having heard his low tone just fine and walked back through the dinning room into the living room. Ib looked at her.

"There's no answer." She said. "Is Daddy ok?"

"Daddy said he's sick." Mary told her, but in passing. She crawled up onto the couch and drew the curtains wide open.

She didn't see anything.

"Mommy, there's no answer." Ib tried as their mother rushed by.

"Keep trying, Sweetie."

Ib looked after her, then squared her shoulders and hung up the phone, walked into the kitchen. Mary looked back out the window. A strange person had hobbled into view; dragging them self down the sidewalk, leaving a trail of blood behind them. She contemplated what to do, before jumping off to go see what her sister was doing.

"No, Honey," Their father was struggling while looking at his little girl. "I want you to wait in the other room. Ok? Wait with your sister."

"Daddy?" Ib whispered softly. "I can't reach the doctor…"

The man smiled at her, pale and shaking. "I know. I know, don't worry about me." He reached out, like he was going to call her for a hug, but stopped and drew his shaking hand back.

"Go on, like a good girl. You two should go color or something."

Bored with their father's plight, Mary's face lit up. "Oh, yes Ib! Lets!" She grabbed her sisters hand, still not caring if the other wanted to leave, and pulled her into the dinning room.

Their mother came down back down a few minutes later, her arms full of first aid. She stopped for a moment to take in her children: Mary scribbling away and Ib, sitting there, staring at her as she waited for conformation their father would be ok. She took a deep breath. Ib had always been such a mature girl. Even when things were scary.

Ib had never been afraid of the dark or of monsters in her closet. Mary wasn't afraid of any of those things either, of course, but she must have been as a child. It was strange, the women thought briefly as she moved on to the kitchen and placed the double barrel hunting gun on the table, she couldn't remember what Mary had been afraid of.

"What do you think is going to happen?" Ib asked quietly.

Mary grabbed a red crayon and dug it into the paper. "I think Daddy's gonna die."

Ib froze. Shocked.

Mary held up her masterpiece, a picture of a man, presumably their father, spewing blood as another man chased him.

Ib always hated Mary's pictures.

Their mother's scream burst from the kitchen.

"Mom!" Ib yelled, jumping out of her seat. Mary was right behind her.

Throwing open the door, they had just enough time to see there mother fall to the ground as their father grabbed and clawed at the skirt of her red dress. She screamed, terrified, trying to kick him off. Ib stood unmoving in the door, horror written over her face. Mary tried to get a better look.

The women kicked again, tears streaming down her face. She had just finished watching him, her husband, die on her kitchen counter! She had hardly had the time to start crying over him when he'd grabbed her! His eyes were dead, his movements jerky, his mouth hanging open- She screamed again at the unnatural thing that started to pull it's way up her clothes. It wasn't her husband anymore. It couldn't be!

"Mom-!" Ib's voice trembled from the door.

They both looked towards the sound. A new kind of fear crossed the women's face and she screamed again. She reached forward and grabbed the creatures hair, yanking it left and right. It tired to bite her arms, but could do little with the grip she had on it. Shoving her heel into it's stomach, hoping to cause it some kind of pain, she scrambled to the counter, reaching for the gun.

"RUN!" She yelled, as it grabbed her skirt again and she and the gun tumbled to the ground. The girls stood there, unable to move and she cursed her dress for the second time. Grabbing the gun and flipping over, she didn't have the time to even breath before she pulled the trigger.

Ib turned around and grabbed her little sister, trying to hide them both from the sight. Mary wiggled, peaking over her shoulder.

The women let out a sob, dropping the gun and pushing her husbands corpse off, crawling away. She was shaken to the core. For a few moments, she couldn't even think. When she was sure he had stopped moving, she inched forward and grabbed the gun again.

Trembling, she got up and walked into the other room, closing the door tight behind her. Ib looked at her, eyes filled with tears. She couldn't believe her heart could hurt any more painfully as she dropped to her knees. Ib ran into her arms.

"I'm so sorry, Babies," she whispered, hugging her tight and holding out her other arm to invite Mary. The girl joined in with joy. "You didn't need to see that. You shouldn't have seen that."

She stroked their hair from a few moments before Ib pulled back and looked at her firmly. "Mommy…" She said, her voice trying not to tremble. "Daddy was sick, right? Now, he can't hurt us, right? He's gone to a better place… Right?"

She looked up and her mother flinched. She felt the sting of tears return to her eyes. There was so much strength in her daughter's eyes.

No! She couldn't cry. She had to be strong too. She had to protect them.

Roughly she wiped away the tears with her clean sleeve. "That's right, dear," She said firmly. "Something bad happened to Daddy. It was the only way." Ib sniffed, just once and hugged her again.

"Mommy?" Mary said cheerfully, like she didn't even care what was happening. "Does that hurt?"

The women looked down at her arm, at the torn fabric and the blood her husbands teeth had drawn when he'd first managed to catch her off guard.

"No, Baby," She promised, despite it's dull ache. "It doesn't hurt. Don't worry about me."

…..

"Ib… Honey… Come here…"

Ib did as her mother instructed, snuggling into her mothers embrace where she sat on the ground, weak and pale, leaning against the wall.

There was no one. Not a soul had answered the phone. She could not drive, and all the houses she 'd managed to reach before those _things_ had flooded their streets, had been empty. There was no one to take care of her children…

Not, Mary noticed with annoyance, that she seemed to remember that she was supposed to have a second child.

"My baby… I'm so sorry." She muttered into her daughters hair. Ib shook her head saying it was ok, but the women pulled her closer. "I'm so sorry. I'm so sorry. You're such a good girl. I never gave you enough attention…" Her words came out raspy, her eyes completely unfocused. "I should… guided… you. should have… protect you…"

"It's ok, Mom." She answered as the women's grip loosened.

"No… it's not…" she closed her eyes. "…you need… o…ok…? Hand me… gun…" She closed her eyes and then they didn't open.

Ib touched her face. "Mommy? Mom!"

Mary smiled. That's what she got for forgetting her. Who needed a mommy, anyways? She had her precious sister.

"Mommy…?" Ib's eyes watered. "Mary… Mom's…" She turned to look at her sister.

The women opened her eyes again.

Mary's scream filled the room, but Ib's was silenced before it started, with teeth buried in her soft throat. Blood bloomed over her white blouse as the girl fell dead to the floor, the corpse ripping a chunk of shirt and flesh from the girls upper arm.

It consumed the meat without thought, looking up as another sound attracted its attention. It didn't think as the barrel pressed to its face, right between it's eyes. It didn't see the cold twisted hatred in the blond child's eyes as she pulled the trigger. And it didn't think as it collapsed.

Mary held the gun for a moment, knowing if it was still alive, the empty weapon could still bludgeon well enough. But it didn't move, so she kicked it. She kicked it again and again, until the body had rolled off. She didn't care about the body of the women she had called 'mother' for almost a year.

How dare she forget about her!

How dare she hurt Ib!

She dropped the gun and knelt by her sister, pulling the girls head into her lap. She wasn't bothered by the blood, or the cold heavy body. She just sat there, looking at her sister.

What was the point? She had come there to be with her. To live. To have a sister and a mommy and a daddy. To have a normal life, like a normal girl.

"This isn't what I wanted." She complained. "This isn't what I wanted!"

She was supposed to get her way!

Ib's red eyed blinked open and her head twisted around to sink its teeth into Mary's arm. Mary gasped, but the body jerked away with an empty groan. Dissatisfied, the reanimated corpse of her dear sister tumbled to the floor, rolling it's head to look for food.

Mary gazed at it in shock. From her arm, black paint spilled over the sleeve of her dress. "Ib…?"

The creature looked at her, drawn by the sound. But there was no warm blood or meat. Instead, it dragged its body across the carpet and struggled to it's feet.

Mary continued to stare as a smile came to her mouth. "Hee… heehee…" She started to giggle. "Heehee…-!" She stood up, eyes widening with happiness, her voice verging on hysterics. "Hahahahaha! HAHAHAHA!"

The loud noise caused the creature the stumble towards her, but Mary just bounced to the side, avoiding it. Not that Ib would eat her. No, no, NO! Not her precious sister. Her sister that loved her _so_ **_much_** that not even _death_ could keep them apart!

"Hahaha! Together forever, Ib! Just you and me!" The creature followed her shrilled voice. What it would do when it reached her was unknown. It couldn't eat her, so she didn't care.

"Ib, this will be a whole new game! We don't need Mommy. We don't need dear old dad!"

She giggled again as her lovely sister slowly slogged after her into the living room.

"Are you hungry, sister dearest?" She smiled. "Mary will take care of you, Ib. Mary will find you something yummy. Something yummy." She bounced out the front door, leading her sister out into the new world.

**The End**

* * *

Aaaaaaaaand: There you have it! Alright, so the reason I didn't follow Mary's version, was because the only way I was going to write that version was: Ib turns and bites Mary. Obviously, that doesn't lead them very far. I figure Ib follows Mary, and the innocent-looking blond girl lures survivors to her sister, until all the survivors are dead and Mary is all alone again. Or until someone figures it out and kills them both. Assuming Mary can die by normal means.

For anyone still reading: I am still _working_ on the other 4 chapters to Roses in The Walking Dead however… I am not currently planning on finishing it. I won't post any more chapters, until I've finish all four chapters. As much as I'd love to finish chapter 2 for you guys, Id' rather leave it as a successful one-shot then leave it as an unfinished story.

Anyways, tell me what you think of Mary's version. The only other versions of this story are: (Ib all alone: Nothing happens because she's still stuck in the gallery.) (Garry gets out alone: He actually goes a different way since he didn't have to go pick up Ib, and ends up being eaten since he's such an unlucky scaredy-cat.) And (memories cranny: They both become Walkers, because they still don't have the other to save them.) Not much I can do with them, but I might write another crossover at some point. It might happen if the mood strikes.

Ib, TWD © Not me. The only payment I get are the comments of the lovely people online.


End file.
